THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary met the investment consultant recommended by Emily the following Monday afternoon at the Scandic Lerkendal Hotel's restaurant. She was a very graceful and charming lady, not so beautiful like Camilla, but with the sort of soft facial features that could elicit tender feelings in any male specimen. She was dressed in a dark blue suit that brought out the color of her eyes peeking from behind a pair of stylish spectacles. At first sight, she was the picture of a delicate yet true-blue successful businesswoman in every sense.

"So, first things first," Emily said as soon as they'd settled down in seats opposite hers on a corner table in the Scandic Lerkendal Hotel's restaurant. "Let's start with introductions. I guess I don't need to introduce myself as both of you are well-acquainted with me. So, let's start with ladies, first." She added, fixing her gaze on the lady across the table.

The lady smiled and reached out with her hand towards Zachary for a handshake. "Hello, Zachary," she said. "I'm Heather Miller, an investment consultant based in London UK. Nice to finally meet you, Zachary! I've heard a lot about you, and I'm really looking forward to working with you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Miss Miller," Zachary replied, taking her hand for a firm handshake. "I'm Zachary Bemba, and I'm a pro footballer, playing for Rosenborg here in Trondheim."

Miss Miller chuckled. "No need to be so formal, Zachary. I think that I'm not much older than you. So, calling me Heather instead of Miss Miller is quite fine."

"Okay, Heather," Zachary replied, grinning. "I guess I'll call you Heather from now on."

"So, Heather!" Emily chipped in with a smile. "Zachary is a good client of mine. He has plans to invest in stocks at an international level. So, that's why we contacted you."

"Oh, okay," Miller Heather nodded, leaning back in her seat and inclining her face to lock eyes with Zachary. "Emily should have already told you that I'm the person-to-go-to if you need any advice concerning international business matters. Be it buying and selling stocks, international business registration and entity setup, and even real estate across Europe — I'm an expert. So, as long as we can agree on a few terms, then I'll be able to guide you when you're investing in stocks or any other businesses on an international level."

"That's what I'm hoping for," Zachary said, planting his elbows on the table. "Basically, I need a list of companies where I can invest by buying shares. I need companies that show promise and are based mainly in Europe, North America, and Asia. As you can guess, my main aim for seeking your services is to reduce the risk involved when trading stocks. So, are you able to compile for me such a list as soon as possible?"

"That's quite a simple matter," Heather replied in a poised tone. "However, as a professional, I would advise you to avoid investing in stocks if you're looking for low-risk investments. Instead, you could try investing in real estate or acquiring corporate bonds. You won't lose money as long as you take some degree of care. However, trading in stocks is like gambling to some extent. So, you'll face varying degrees of risk depending on the nature of investments you wish to make."

"I still want to try investing in stocks," Zachary said, leaning back in his seat. Of course, he understood that some risks were always involved in any stock-related investments. However, he was confident that he could avoid most of the pitfalls involved with his knowledge from the future."

"As long as you understand that there's some risk involved, then all is okay," Heather replied with a smile. "How much do you wish to invest at the moment?"

"Around 700,000 Euros for a start."

"Oh, that's quite a sizeable amount." Heather nodded as a smile outlined her facial features. "It would be my pleasure to aid you as you begin your journey of buying and selling stocks. But, first things first, we need to agree on my consultancy fees before we move on to the actual business."

Zachary nodded. "That's okay. So, how much do you charge for your services?"

"First, let me explain the nature of my work so that you can understand the associated costs later on," Heather said, fishing out a document from her handbag beside her. "You've got to understand that we'll have to work together for more than a year if your target is to invest in stocks in the long term."

"We'll start by opening a brokerage account, which is the key to buying and selling securities, like stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds for any investor. After that, we have to spend days assessing the stock market so that we can compile a list of companies where to invest your money at relatively low risk."

"If you do decide to invest, then we'll have to track your investment from day one," Heather continued. "That way, we can gain a steady flow of information about your investment and be able to make decisions quickly in case of unexpected situations."

"You've got to know that we need a steady inflow of information about the companies you've invested in so that we can keep your money safe. For instance, if a company you invested in is close to going bankrupt, we can react beforehand and save a fraction of your money. On the other hand, if there is an unexpected monumental increase in the price of shares you previously bought, we can decide to sell immediately, depending on the available information."

"So, as you can see, I'll have to put in quite a lot of hours to aid you when you begin investing in stocks. And that's why I'll have to charge you a flat annual fee of 55,000 Euros only. This price includes all the fees for my services, including my travel allowances and hotel fees."

"Oh!" Zachary said, inclining his head to glance at Emily, his agent seated beside him. "What do you think?"

"The price is quite okay since it's an annual fee," Emily responded with a smile. "But since we're going to be long-term partners, then she can deduct for us at least 5,000 Euros from the fee. What say you, Heather?"

"5,000 Euros!" Heather mumbled in response, creasing her brows. "I'll be making quite a loss if I deduct 5,000 Euros from the total cost. Let's do it like this. I will deduct 3,000 Euros. So, you only have to pay me 52,000 Euros per year. That's the least I can go. If you can't afford that, then I'm sorry. I won't be able to work for you at a cost lower than that."

"Okay, then," Emily said, her face blossoming into a smile. "52,000 Euros is quite a good fee, I guess."

"Then, 52,000 Euros it is," Zachary chimed in, grinning and reaching out with his hand towards the investment consultant from across the table. "Let's have a pleasant time working together."

"Let's have a pleasant cooperation," Heather replied, taking his hand. "I'll draft the contract of our work agreement and have it ready for your perusal by tomorrow."

"That's okay," Zachary said, nodding. "You can consult with Emily while drafting the contract. She usually handles most of my legal matters."

"Fair enough!" Heather nodded. "I'll do that. Now, let's talk about the actual business. Do you have any companies in mind that you wish to invest in?"

"Well," Zachary said, caressing his chin. "I'm new to the world of stock investments. But I still do have a company in mind. I think it's called Tesla Inc. and specializes in manufacturing electric vehicles plus their accessories. This company will most likely make it big in the future since the world trend is slowly tilting towards using cleaner energy over fossil fuels. So, I really wish to buy a good number of Tesla shares as soon as possible."

"Tesla is already a big company!" Heather laughed. "Their price per share is already around 35 to 42 US Dollars."

"Don't mind that," Zachary said confidently. "Just go ahead and try to help me purchase a good number of shares from Tesla. I'm willing to invest 500,000 Euros in just Tesla for the start since I'm sure that the company will be quite successful in the future."

"You're that confident? Don't you even want me to do a financial analysis on this potential investment?"

"There's no need as I've already decided on this. Just focus on helping me acquire the shares at the best price possible."

Zachary, of course, was certain that the price per share of Tesla Inc. would at one time even hit a year high of more than 1,000 US Dollars in the future. That was more than twenty-five times the current share price of around 35 - 42 US Dollars.

So, Zachary would stand to gain more than 12 Million Euros about seven years from then if he could invest 500,000 Euros at that moment. Thus, there was no reason for him to hesitate when buying Tesla Inc. shares.

"Okay, then," Heather replied, letting out a breath. "I'll move quickly to help you purchase the Tesla shares after setting up a brokerage account for you."

"That's good," Zachary said, nodding. "I also need you to compile a list of companies worldwide that I can invest in at relatively low risk. Aside from Tesla Inc., you'll, of course, have to conduct rigorous financial analyses before I can invest in any of the other companies."

"That's okay with me," Heather replied. "I'll be able to compile a list of suitable companies and their associated financial data within two weeks."

"That's good then," Zachary said, stealing a peek at his watch. "I'm sorry. But, I have to attend a training session with my fitness instructor in about thirty minutes. So, I really have to go now. But you can iron out all the details of the contract with Emily."

"It's okay," Heather replied with a smile. "You can go for your training without any worries. I'll start drafting the contract right away. And, of course, I'll be sure to seek Emily's input throughout the entire process. Isn't that right, Emily?"

"Yes, that's okay," Emily chimed in. "You can go for your training without worry, Zachary. I'll handle everything here in the meantime."

"Okay, great," Zachary said, standing up from his seat and extending his hand towards the investment consultant. "It was nice meeting you, Heather."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Zachary," she replied, taking the hand for a handshake. "Thank you for hiring me. I promise that you won't regret hiring me as your investment consultant."

"Then, that puts my heart at ease. You can discuss everything else with Emily as I have to go now. And thanks for your time."

"You're welcome."

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